Clients enter counseling for many reasons. A commonality is a recognition that something is not working in their lives. Discomfort may have cropped up in the form of anxiety, unease, dissatisfaction, sadness, tension, fear, anger.  Therapy begins when the desire for change becomes greater than the willingness to tolerate the discomfort.

Therapy is a process of self awareness on the road to change. It affords us the opportunity to understand our discomfort, its history, our attachment to it, our thoughts and feelings associated with it, our habitual responses and reactions to it.

In order to begin this journey, a good fit between client and therapist is important.  The therapeutic process offers unconditional positive regard and acceptance. It opens the door for honest self exploration, without fear of judgment.

My approach is friendly and direct and I draw on a variety of theories, including Psychodynamic Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Psychodynamic therapy is also called insight oriented therapy, and its goals are to increase our understanding and awareness of how our past experiences can influence our  present functioning.  CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts can influence our feelings and behavior.  In CBT, we take time to identify and understand our thinking patterns and habits and may choose to challenge thoughts that are not effective.  DBT,  offers skills that increase our ability to tolerate distress, that help us to regulate intense emotions, and that increase our ability to interact more effectively with those around us.

In addition, I employ various skills to assist clients in becoming more mindful and aware of what is actual happening in the present rather than being influenced by old conditioning. “Therapy” occurs within the office through discussion, and “therapy” occurs outside the office, as you develop a greater ability to observe and recognize old conditioning as it unfolds.  A space is being created for choice and change.